Jos Buttlers recall to the England Test team has been instrumental in their revival since last winters defeats to Australia and New Zealand, according to Michael Atherton.
After losing the Ashes 4-0, England were beaten by New Zealand at the start of the year. But since they have drawn to Pakistan and beat India at home and Sri Lanka away.
Buttler was recalled to the Test side by national selector Ed Smith in May after enjoying a record-breaking run at the 2017 Indian Premier League.
In ten Tests, the 28-year-old has passed fifty seven times and scored his first Test century against India at Trent Bridge.
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If youre looking at the selectors then Ed Smith has had a good year and I think the recall of Buttler was actually the key decision of the year, Atherton said.
A lot of people would have picked Buttler but he wasnt being picked and he didnt have any red-ball or first-class cricket behind him.
It was a brave call to pluck him from T20 and IPL cricket but thats been a decision that has really driven Englands improvement, I think.
The Ashes defeat to Steve Smiths Australia was a particularly humbling result for Root and his England team, who looked short of ideas and firepower.
And Athers believes the performance Down Under forced Root and the selectors to go down a different route this summer.
England went from Australia to New Zealand and they got hammered, the former England captain told Sky Sports.
That was the point, I think, when Root thought, Weve got to do something a little different here, we cant keep hitting teams abroad with four right-arm seam bowlers.
They brought in Mark Wood for the second Test in Christchurch and Leach also got his first Test match – there was just a sense that Root had started to adapt to foreign conditions.
Theyve got it spot on in Sri Lanka for the conditions. Theyve gone for absolutely the right balance, with it being spin-dominated. They also have depth of batting, which we saw in the summer.
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More: Cricket
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Jos Buttlers recall to the England Test team has been instrumental in their revival since last winters defeats to Australia and New Zealand, according to Michael Atherton.
After losing the Ashes 4-0, England were beaten by New Zealand at the start of the year. But since they have drawn to Pakistan and beat India at home and Sri Lanka away.
Buttler was recalled to the Test side by national selector Ed Smith in May after enjoying a record-breaking run at the 2017 Indian Premier League.
In ten Tests, the 28-year-old has passed fifty seven times and scored his first Test century against India at Trent Bridge.
More: Cricket
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If youre looking at the selectors then Ed Smith has had a good year and I think the recall of Buttler was actually the key decision of the year, Atherton said.
A lot of people would have picked Buttler but he wasnt being picked and he didnt have any red-ball or first-class cricket behind him.
It was a brave call to pluck him from T20 and IPL cricket but thats been a decision that has really driven Englands improvement, I think.
The Ashes defeat to Steve Smiths Australia was a particularly humbling result for Root and his England team, who looked short of ideas and firepower.
And Athers believes the performance Down Under forced Root and the selectors to go down a different route this summer.
England went from Australia to New Zealand and they got hammered, the former England captain told Sky Sports.
That was the point, I think, when Root thought, Weve got to do something a little different here, we cant keep hitting teams abroad with four right-arm seam bowlers.
They brought in Mark Wood for the second Test in Christchurch and Leach also got his first Test match – there was just a sense that Root had started to adapt to foreign conditions.
Theyve got it spot on in Sri Lanka for the conditions. Theyve gone for absolutely the right balance, with it being spin-dominated. They also have depth of batting, which we saw in the summer.
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More: Cricket
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